Clear your mind in these open spaces made for exploring

January 15, 2019

Get out there

Fifty percent of the world's population lives on just 1% of the Earth's surface. That leaves plenty of wide-open, uncrowded spaces to explore. Taking a break from the hustle and bustle can help you find a new perspective or ease your troubled mind. Here are a few places where you can get away from it all.

Photo courtesy of iStock / GlowingEarth

Traveling by van in Mongolia

For eleven days, I traveled by van in Mongolia. Two hours outside of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, there were no more roads, street lamps or electricity poles.

Sleeping in gers

Bayanzag, the Flaming Cliffs

This area in the Gobi is called the Flaming Cliffs, Bayanzag, Bain-Dzak or in Mongolian, Улаан Эрэг, and it's where many dinosaur fossils have been found. An America paleontologist, Roy Chapman Andrews, discovered dinosaur eggs here in the 1920s.

Walk with polar bears

If you're interested in wildlife, perhaps travel to the northern reaches of the planet where you'll be outnumbered by animals. At Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge near Hudson Bay, I walked with polar bears with Churchill Wild. It was one of the best bucket list adventures I've ever experienced.

Hippo pool at sunset

It was a treat to be allowed out of the safari vehicle to walk around high above the hippos. As the light faded, we went back to our mobile tent camp, Sanctuary Kichakani, and heard lions roaring around us during the night.

Lions in the Serengeti

A family of giraffes in Maasai Mara

After visiting the children at Enkereri Primary School, we passed by this family of giraffes. The Chief of the village near Sanctuary Olonana, Richard, invited me to teach his warriors in the Maasai Mara how to hula hoop.

Lisa Ellen Niver has explored 101 countries, 6 continents and sailed for seven years on the high seas. She is always ready for more active adventures! Find her talking travel at KTLA TV and in her We Said Go Travel videos with nearly 900,000 views on YouTube channel.She has been nominated for five Southern California Journalism Awards in the past two yearsand received 2nd place for her Jewish Journal article.Niver has written for AARP, American Airways, Delta Sky, Luxury Magazine, Ms. Magazine, Robb Report, Sierra Club, Smithsonian, Saturday Evening Post and United Airlines (Hemispheres).